The Switch [COMPLETED]

Epilogue 1: The Proposal

Asher Halen:

My palms were sweaty as I held the little velvet ring box in my hand. The teardrop-shaped diamond winked at me from within its setting in a rose gold band, and for the hundredth time that day I imagined what it would look like once it was finally resting on Paisley's finger. I was eager to find out. 

That is, if she said yes...

I snapped the ring box shut with a "clack" and pushed the thought out of my mind. Of course she would say yes. Of course. Right?..

I was interrupted from my panic by the sound of gravel crunching under tires coming towards me from behind. I spun on my heel and sighed in relief when I recognized Tucker's black Range Rover.

Tucker himself emerged from the vehicle a few moments later with a string of fairy lights wound around one arm and a cardboard box full of candles in the other. I smiled when I saw him, and jogged a bit to meet him halfway as he started walking towards me. 

"Dude, thank you, you're a lifesaver!" I exclaimed, taking the box of candles from him and helping him remove his arm from the coil of lights. 

"No problem, man. Anything to help."

Tucker flashed me a smile and then craned his neck to look around behind me. I saw his approving nod as he surveyed the setup before turning his attention back on me again. 

"I see you're almost ready for tonight, huh?" he asked with a mischievous grin. "You nervous?"

"Extremely," I said honestly. "How did you feel when you asked Lillian?" I asked, referring to Tucker's now extremely pregnant wife. 

"Easy-peasy," Tucker said nonchalantly with a wave of his hand. "I was just like, 'Hey, pretty lady. You. Me. Forever. Let's do it.'"

I raised my eyebrow and stared at him until he finally started laughing. 

"Nah, I'm kidding. I was so nervous that I almost fainted," Tucker finally admitted. "But it was all worth it the moment she said yes," he said with a wistful smile. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him subconsciously twirling the wedding band on his left ring finger. 

Tonight was the night that I was hoping to get my 'yes' from Paisley. I had been planning it for weeks. It was intimate - cozy - just the way that Paisley would like it. I had decided to take things back to the place where it SHOULD have all started: on the banks of that shallow little canal where we had finally switched back to our own bodies. I had missed an opportunity then; an opportunity to tell Paisley how I really felt. It seemed only fitting that I should be allowed a do-over in the same spot where I had screwed things up years before. 

I had set up a simple little tent made out of a white sheet that I was going to hang with the battery-operated fairy lights that Tucker had brought. A soft checkered blanket was spread on the ground inside the tent, on which sat a picnic basket full of all of Paisley's favorite foods: pizza, brownies, and chocolate milk. I was going to light candles and place them all around us along with a sprinkling of rose petals for an added oomph. With the babbling of the little canal in the background to serenade us, it made for a pretty romantic scene, if I did say so myself. Now all that was missing was the girl...

"Have you heard from Lillian at all today?" I asked Tucker as I began to place the candles in strategic locations within the tent. 

"Yup, everything is right on track. She's at the nail place with Paisley right now."

"Awesome."

I wanted everything to be perfect tonight, so I had asked Lillian to keep Paisley busy with a day full of pampering. So far the pair had gone for facials and makeovers. After their nail appointment, they were going to go shopping for outfits for a "girl's night out." Except when Paisley got to the location where she was SUPPOSED to be meeting Lillian for drinks, she would instead find a note instructing her to come to the canal. It was foolproof.